


After

by Hawtsee



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-25
Updated: 2016-11-25
Packaged: 2018-09-02 05:16:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8652421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hawtsee/pseuds/Hawtsee
Summary: After Gale and Katniss break up, Madge thinks she won't see very much of Gale. Little does she know...





	1. After the break up

**11 minutes after The Break Up -The Stairwell.**

Ever since Madge had noticed that her favorite skinny jeans had become a little uncomfortable she’s been taking steps to be healthier; opting for tea instead of hot chocolate at Starbucks, getting off the subway a stop early and walking the rest of the way, only having one slice of Peeta’s red velvet cake instead of two, that kind of thing.

At work, she takes the elevator to her thirteenth floor office; the object is to lose weight, not give herself a heart attack after all. But at home, she takes the stairs to the fourth floor apartment she shares with her friend Katniss. As far as she can tell, she's the only resident in the building who even knows there is a stairs.

So she's surprised to find Gale Hawthorne sitting on the stairs between the third and fourth floors. His head in his hands and his whole body shaking. It takes her a moment to understand that he’s crying. She doesn’t have to wonder why. She can guess.

He hasn’t seen her yet, and there’s no way she wants to alert him to her presence. She backs away slowly intending to go back down to the third and take the elevator up to her own floor. But her shoes squeak on the faded linoleum and Gale’s head shoots up, trapping her in the heat of his gaze.

They’re both as still as statues for a moment. Madge is struck by how devastated he looks. Gale is not her favorite person, but her heart immediately goes out to him. It’s compassion that compels her up the steps towards him. “Gale-”. She can hear the pity in her own voice and cringes.

“Don’t. Just don’t,” Gale spits. “You never thought I was good enough for her so don’t pretend to be sorry now. You got what you wanted.”

“I’m-”

He shakes his head furiously and storms past her down the stairs. The sound of his feet echoing is gone by the times she moves on.

She finds Katniss sitting on the couch in their living room. She’s staring into space. She looks upset but dry-eyed. “I broke up with Gale,” she says. Madge can hear the pain in her voice.

“You did the right thing,” Madge says gently. “You’re not in love with him. It’s better for everybody to be honest with him. He’ll see that, one day.” Madge doesn’t tell her about finding Gale crying in the stairwell. She doesn’t know if it’s for Katniss’ sake, or Gale’s.

**3 weeks After The Break Up - Molly Malone’s Sports Bar.**

Madge passes Molly Malone's Sports Bar almost every day, but has never been inside. She's never been inside any sports bar, for that matter, nor cares to rectify that. But her colleague at work has had a baby and named her Molly; and Molly Malone’s sells t-shirts in all sizes, with their logo of a baby drinking milk from a re-purposed Guinness bottle emblazoned on the front. Madge thinks it will be a cute gift for the baby.

It’s early in the evening when she calls in, so it’s not very busy yet but it’s more crowded than she expected. She tells the bar-tender what she’s looking for. There’s no baby-sized t-shirts behind the bar, but he knows there’s some in the stockroom and goes in search of them. Madge looks around the room as she waits. Her eyes almost immediately land on Gale Hawthorne. He’s with a group of friends in in a booth, sharing a plate of wings and drinking beer. He’s scruffier than she’s ever seen him before. She wonders if growing a beard is the male equivalent of a post-breakup haircut for girls.

She looks away quickly and hopes he doesn’t see her. She’s not entirely sure what the protocol is in situations like this. They’re not friends exactly, but she knows him and years of etiquette lessons have drilled politeness into her. Though the last thing she wants is another encounter with Gale. It’s very likely he doesn’t want to talk to her either, so it would be impolite to impose herself on him, she decides. Better to pretend she hasn’t seen him and make a quick getaway. She wills the bartender to hurry back so she can execute her plan.

Madge becomes aware of a presence at her elbow, and when she lifts her eyes she finds Gale standing beside her. Her heart sinks. He’s not here to talk to her about the game last night; he wants to talk about Katniss. She mentally curses the bartender for being so slow and gives Gale a polite smile. “Hi Gale,” she injects just a hint of surprise in her greeting.

“Madge,” he replies.

“I’m just picking up a gift for my friend Lydia. She’s just had a baby and named her Molly. So I thought it would be cute to get her a t-shirt from here.” Maybe if she keeps talking, the bartender will get back before Gale has a chance to ask any awkward questions.

Gale’s not having it. He interrupts her bluntly. “Is she dating him yet?”

She looks down and runs her finger over a watermark on the highly polished surface of the bar. She feels so uncomfortable. Why did she come in here? Why couldn’t she have just bought a cute onesie like everybody else? “Lydia? She’s married.”

Gale cuts his eyes at her. He’s pissed at her, but she can seen he’s in pain too. He needs to know.

Madge considers her answer. Are Katniss and Peeta dating yet? He’s been a near permanent fixture in the apartment since Katniss broke up with Gale. He’s been spending the nights there too. They talk and text all the time when he’s not there. They cuddle on the couch, and hold hands when they think Madge can’t see. Katniss denies they’re in a relationship and they haven’t technically been on any dates yet.

“No,” Madge says. “Not yet.” It’s not the whole truth, but it’s not a lie either. She hopes Gale takes note of the ‘yet’, in case he’s fostering any hopes of a reunion with his ex.

Gale smirks bitterly. “But they are fucking.”

She looks down at the watermark again, unable to look at the pain in his eyes.

Gale makes a sound of despair and sinks onto a bar-stool. He rubs his face, trying to get himself under control before going back to his friends. Madge worries he might start crying. She wants to reach out and offer some sort of comfort, but she knows he wouldn’t welcome it. So she wraps her arms around herself instead.

They might not be friends exactly, but she hates seeing him like this. She feels a need to say something to him. “Nothing happened between them while you were with her.”

Gale snorts. “Nothing physical, maybe. But you can’t honestly tell me that there was nothing between them before she broke up with me. There’s more to cheating than just sex.”

“I’m sorry,” she says in a small voice. It’s pathetic, but she doesn’t know what else to say. He’s right. Katniss and Peeta have something special, and it began while she was dating Gale. He has every right to be hurt and angry by Katniss’ betrayal.

Finally the bartender returns, apologizing for the delay. Madge pays him for the t-shirt but doesn’t leave right away. She lingers by Gale. She doesn’t want to be stuck with him, but she feels she should stay. Maybe it’s guilt, because she knew that Peeta and Katniss were falling in love and rooted for them without ever really giving much thought to how it would affect Gale.

“Go,” he says without looking up.

She shifts from foot to foot for a moment before deciding to just do as he says. She can’t do anything for him, and he’s in a bar with his friends after all. He’ll get wasted and they’ll take care of him. “OK. I’ll see you around, Gale.”

He catches her wrist gently before she leaves. She looks at him in surprise. When she meets his eyes, she sees unshed tears there, and her heart clenches in sympathy for him.

“Thanks for being honest with me,” he says.

She nods and bolts.

**4 months after The Break Up - Panem Town Square.**

Shortly before Christmas, in a South American country Madge would have a difficult time locating on a map, a hill collapses. It kills dozens of the miners digging away underneath it and causes a landslide that wipes out a number of small towns and villages, killing scores of people and leaving thousands homeless.

Coming a week before the twelfth anniversary of the Panem mine collapse, it strikes a chord with the residents of Madge’s home town. The mayor’s office organizes a drive to collect food and clothing to send out to the stricken families and survivors. Madge is home for Christmas. Her mother is unwell and she’s taking some time off work to help care for her. She volunteers to help out with the drive. Amongst the other volunteers, she meets Katniss’ little sister, Primrose, now a med student.

The sheer generosity of the people of Panem is staggering and the small band of volunteers are soon swamped. They call for reinforcements. Prim calls Katniss who’s busy, but Peeta comes in her stead, with a box of fresh doughnuts for everyone helping out.

Gale Hawthorne arrives near lunchtime, laden down with heavy looking bags and accompanied by his little sister. Madge watches warily as he approaches her station. As far as she knows, it’s the first time he and Peeta have been in the same room since the break-up. She expects fireworks and can only hope that Posy’s presence will help keep a lid on matters.

“Hey,” Gale grunts and heaves one of the bags onto the table in front of her. “Baby clothes.”

Madge goes through the contents of the bag. As he said, it’s all baby clothes and blankets. Most of it is hand-knitted, it all looks new and unused. She wonders where it came from.

Gale must sense her question. “Ma likes to knit, so she makes a lot of baby clothes and stockpiles it until someone she knows has a baby. Because our baby is too big for them now.” He touches the top of Posy’s head and messes her hair a little in an affectionate gesture. Posy was born two weeks after the disaster at the mine that killed her father.

“This is really great, thank you so much,” Madge says, touched by their thoughtfulness.

“The food goes over there,” Posy says, pointing to the station manned by Peeta and Prim.

Gale’s expression darkens as he lays eyes on Peeta, currently playing some kind of slapping game with Prim.

“You know, you can just leave all your bags here and I’ll sort it,” Madge interjects, hoping to avoid a confrontation between the two.

“The bag is really heavy,” Posy says, nudging Gale to do his job. He lifts up the bag with a grunt and carries it over to the table. Madge follows them over, ready to intervene if necessary.

Prim and Peeta have stopped playing and watch him approach. Madge can see that Peeta is nervous, but Prim is smiling and she rushes out to hug Posy and gush over how tall and pretty she’s gotten. When Gale leaves the bag on the table, she hugs him too.

“Hi stranger,” Prim says. “You look great. Nice beard.”

For the first time, Madge really looks at Gale. The scruff he was sporting last time she saw him as grown into a full beard. Usually beards do nothing for her, but Gale can really pull it off.

“I’ve always said the Hawthornes got all the best genes,” Prim teases. She looks to Peeta for his agreement. He makes a noncommittal sound and keeps unpacking the bag Gale brought without looking up.

“I want him to dye it white for Christmas, but he won’t because he’s a Grinch,” Posy giggles.

Gale gives her a half-hearted smile.

“Oh that would be awesome,” Prim agrees, clapping her hands. “You should do it for our Christmas party.”

“I’m not going to the party,” Gale says bluntly.

Prim’s expression falls. “What? Why not? You have to come.”

Gale shrugs. “I just don’t feel like spending Christmas Eve with my ex-girlfriend and the guy she cheated on me with.” He glares at Peeta, daring him to argue. Peeta continues to unpack and refuses to meet Gale’s eyes.

Prim looks between the two of them, ready to argue with Gale and confused by Peeta’s unwillingness to defend Katniss.

“Let’s go, Pose,” Gale says, walking away. Posy shoots Peeta a very impressive glare and follows after him.

“Is that true?” Prim asks, she sounds like she’s close to tears.

“It’s complicated, Prim,” Madge says when Peeta stays silent. “And this is not the best place to talk about it.”

Prim nods and goes back to helping Peeta, but the earlier camaraderie and closeness between them is gone and for the rest of the morning they work in silence. Madge fumes at Gale.

She’s further pissed off when they next four donations are clearly from people just trying to get rid of junk. One bag contains fourteen faded bikinis and several pairs of worn out flip-flops. She feels like throwing them back at the donor.

At that point, Madge decides she needs a break in case she yells at the next person; so she eats her lunch quickly in a back room and braves going outside for a walk. Even though it’s freezing, she needs the air. There’s some kind of Christmas market taking place in the park opposite so she crosses over to take a look. She diverts her path when she spots Gale sitting on a bench, his long legs stretched out in front of him.

Madge stomps over to him. “You know, that was a real douche move,” she spits out.

He looks completely unruffled by her presence. “Yeah, but I owed him one.”

“Why would you say that to Prim? It was so mean. You really upset her.”

Gale scowls at her. “All I did was tell her the truth. Am I supposed to be sorry that she found out that Perfect Peeta isn’t actually flawless?” He stands up to go, but whirls around and jabs his finger almost in Madge’s face. “I’m sick of everybody acting like Peeta is a fucking saint. The guy is an asshole. He knew Katniss had a boyfriend and still went after her. Now the Everdeen’s think he’s the second coming and I’m…” He deflates and shakes his head. “Forget it. You don’t care.” he flops down onto the bench again, looking defeated.

She could just go. There’s no reason at all to stay. Yet, she finds herself perching beside him on the bench.

They sit in silence for a long time, watching kids playing on the swings. Madge realizes that one of them is Posy.

She's surprised when Gale starts talking. “Before Katniss and I dated, we were best friends. Her family was like my family. I love Prim like a sister. Since Katniss broke up with me, they haven’t texted or called me once. It’s like I never mattered because now they have Saint Peeta, the Perfect.”

Madge reaches out and pats his arm. “You know, Peeta’s not perfect.”

“Yeah? Name me three faults he has,” Gale says dryly.

Three? Why did she open her big mouth? It takes her a minute to think of even one because Peeta is actually the closest to perfect that she knows.

“Um… he always leaves the toilet seat up. Always.”

Gale rolls his eyes. “OK, that’s barely one.”

“No,” she insists. “That’s a big fault. I nearly broke my tail bone one night because of it. You never left it up.” It’s a quality she took for granted until Peeta started spending so much time at their apartment. She has a memory of Gale once telling a really funny story about how Posy trained all her brothers to put the toilet seat down when she was six.

Gale must be thinking of the same thing because he grins affectionately in his sister's direction. “Got any more?”

Just as Madge is afraid that she’s going to have to lie and make up a flaw, another one jumps into her brain. “Yes. He always clips his toe nails in the living room, and they must grow at twice the speed of normal toe nails because I swear, the living room carpet is covered in his toe nail clippings. Every time I walk on it, I find another one. It’s disgusting.” She shudders at the thought.

She expects Gale to laugh, but he just looks at her sadly. “Sounds like he’s living with you guys.”

Damn it. “Pretty much,” she admits reluctantly.

“Happy Christmas to me,” Gale mutters. He pushes himself to his feet. “I should get Posy home.”

“Wait,” Madge jumps up so she’s facing him. “There’s a third... Peeta knew Katniss was in a relationship and he still pursued her. That was really a douche move.

He nods once in appreciation. “Happy Christmas, Madge.”

**11 months after The Break Up - Miguel’s Pizzeria and Jazz Bar.**

Madge isn’t really into Scott, she’s hoping he’ll let their relationship fizzle out. But when he calls her to ask her to dinner on Saturday night, she says yes. She’s looking for a distraction. Her mother’s condition has taken a turn for the worst and it’s really only a matter of time now.

Two minutes after Scott picks her up, she realizes she should have said no and gone to the movies by herself instead. But he tells her that he’s booked a table at her favorite restaurant so she resolves to just enjoy the meal and cry off with a headache afterwards.

Miguel’s is heaving when they arrive. It’s a hugely popular spot and even with a booking, there’s always a wait to be seated. So they get drinks at the bar and try to find seats on the leather couches. It’s packed and Madge doesn’t think they have a hope of finding a place to sit until she feels a tap on her shoulder.

It’s Gale. He’s sitting on a couch with an incredibly gorgeous woman beside him. They squeeze up to make room for her to sit. Scott perches on the armrest.

“Hey, I almost didn’t recognize you without your beard,” Madge exclaims.

Gale rubs his chin. The beard is gone, but there’s still some stubble. Not for the first time, Madge is struck by how handsome he is. Prim was right. He did get all the best genes. “This is Rain. Rain, this is Madge. She’s… uh, a friend from home.”

Madge shakes Rain’s hand and introduces Scott.

“So, Gale and Rain,” Scott says. “That’s an ominous coupling.”

Gale laughs like somebody who’s really over that joke already.

“Actually, my full name is Rainbow,” Rain chirps.

From the way, Gale bites his lip to keep from laughing and turns his head away from Rain, Madge can tell this is brand new information to him. She stifles her own laughter.

Rain and Gale chat with them for a minute before the server tells them their table is ready, leaving Madge with her date.

Maybe it’s because her head is full of her mother, but Madge finds Scott to be extra obnoxious tonight and by dessert she’s lost all patience and breaks up with him. He calls her a bitch and storms out, leaving her with the bill.

As she’s waiting to pay, she finds herself standing beside Gale.

“Is everything OK?” he asks. “I saw your date leave.”

“Ugh,” Madge shakes her head in annoyance, she doesn’t even want to waste her breath talking about him. “Good riddance. How was your date? Where’s Rainbow?”

“She’s in the ladies room,” Gale says, checking over his shoulder to see if she’s returning. “I was just getting used to dating somebody called Rain! I keep trying to imagine a conversation where one adult says ‘hey, let’s call our baby Rainbow’ and the other adult says ‘ Good idea honey’. And I can’t.”

Madge snorts in laughter. “Yeah, what kind of weirdos name their child after a weather phenomenon, Gale?”

He grins. “Gale is an old family name.”

Madge grins. “Apart from her name, how was the date?”

“Good. I think.”

“You think?”

Gale shrugs. “Dating is so weird. I’ve never done it before. I’m used to hooking up at bars you know; that’s easy. And with Katniss, it just happened. It was natural. But with dating, there’s all these rules and conventions you have to follow. It feels like we’re playing some sort of game. And everybody else is on expert level and I’m only starting off.”

Madge knows he won’t have any trouble picking it up. A good looking guy like him, with his charm and a great job; he’d have no problem getting dates. “It looks like you’re doing OK so far, Rain is gorgeous.”

“Yeah, and she’s fun. I’m enjoying hanging out with her. But it’s not going to go anywhere.”

“You’re still getting over Katniss, it’s a process,” Madge tells him. “It’s good to see you dating, instead of moping.”

He laughs ruefully, straightening up as Rain joined them. “We’re going for a drink down the block, if you’d like to join us.”

“Thanks, but I’m going to go home and eat a lot of ice cream.”

They walk her out and insist on waiting until she’s in a cab. Madge waves them goodbye and watches them walk off, hand in hand. It makes her feel a little lonely.

 

**18 months after The Break Up - Graveyard, Panem.**

Madge is surprised at the large turnout for her mother’s funeral. Adelaide Undersee spent the better part of two decades quietly suffering in the confines of her own room. She rarely endured visits, and anybody who cared enough to attempt it in the beginning gave up as the years went by.

Sitting by the graveside, Madge runs her eyes over the crowd. It’s the only thing keeping her from crumbling to pieces now. Some people she recognizes easily; her father’s fellow politicians, or the nurses and care-workers who nursed her mother through her illness. Others she has to search her memory banks for, and try to recall names from her childhood. There are many others she doesn’t know at all, and whom she suspects are showing their faces to curry favor with her father rather than to say goodbye to her mother.

Standing at the back, head and shoulders above most of the people, is Gale Hawthorne. She’s not sure why he’s here, but she appreciates the gesture.

Afterwards, Madge wants to stay at the graveyard. She’s not ready to face a house full of people just yet, and there’s a peaceful, tranquil atmosphere at the graveyard. Her father offers numerous times to stay with her, but she assures him she’ll be fine and tells him to go. She knows that he’ll take strength from all the well-wishers at the house.

Madge gathers the cards from the flowers and sits on a stone bench close by her mother’s plot to read through them. After a while, she hears the sound of machinery and looks up to realize they’re about to fill in the grave. She can’t watch that, and jumps up. She’s still not ready to go home, but she doesn’t want to leave the graveyard either, so she walks around the many paths weaving through the plots.

For the first time in days, she feels a sense of peace. She’s glad to see the graveyard like this; bright and sunny and full of flowers and greenery. It helps her imagine her mother somewhere similar, peaceful and happy and finally free of the torment of her illness.

She almost trips over Gale before she sees him, sitting in front of a grave. A glance at the headstone tells her it’s his father’s.

He climbs quickly to his feet. “Madge, I’m sorry for your loss.”

She shakes his hand. “Thank you. Thank you for coming to the funeral.”

“Katniss is sorry she couldn’t make it. I was home for Rory’s 21st birthday, and she asked me to come on her behalf,” Gale tells her.

“Oh.” She didn’t know Katniss and Gale were in touch. Are they friends again? “Well, thank you. I knew Katniss couldn’t come, but I really appreciate you being here in her place.”

“I wanted to come,” Gale tells her. He glances at his father’s headstone. “She came down to the mines every day during the search and… She was very kind us. I’ve always remembered that. I wanted to pay my respects to her.”

Madge had never known that. After the mines collapsed, the schools had been closed and her father was incredibly busy organizing the search and rescue operations. She’d been sent away to stay with relatives. She’d always assumed her mother had spent that time in bed. She couldn’t picture her down at the mines with the frantic, grieving families. “Thank you. That’s really good of you, Gale. I really appreciate hearing that. I didn’t know she’d been there.”

Gale nods. “There were a lot of people here today who remembered her for that and came to pay their respects to her.”

She thinks of all the faces in the crowd today she had wondered about. The people she had thought were there to suck up to her father were there because they remembered a kindness her mother had shown them twelve years ago. The tears that Madge has been holding back all day are now streaming down her cheeks and nothing will stop them. She blindly fishes in her pockets for a tissue.

She tries to stop crying but the tears are coming faster and harder now. She's aware that Gale is awkwardly patting her back. In different circumstances she'd probably laugh. She can practically feel his discomfort. As her tears continue, Gale moves closer. His hand begins to stroke her back in slow circles. After a while, he slips his arm around her shoulder and gives her a side hug. It's weird and bizarrely nice at the same time. Eventually her sobs subside and she gets herself under control.

She pulls away, feeling embarrassed and opens her mouth to apologize.

But Gale gets there first. “It’s OK. I know what it’s like. Are you alright?”

She nods.

“Do you want me to walk you home?”

“No, thank you. I'm alright. I kind of want to be myself. But thank you, Gale, for everything.”

He gives her a small smile and pats her arm awkwardly. “No problem.”

She nods at him and walks away. Her heart is fuller than ever, but she feels lighter too.

 

**1 year, 8 months after The Break Up - Madge’s new apartment (Maybe. Hopefully.).**

One of Madge’s favorite things to do is to browse through property websites. Partly it’s out of sheer nosiness because she likes looking at other people’s apartments, especially if those people are millionaires and have incredible apartments. Mainly thought it's because she’s always had an interest in interior decoration and is looking for ideas and tips for when she has her own place. She dreams of having her own apartment in the city but buying is expensive so for a long time, her online property search is just daydreaming.

Shortly after her mother’s death, Madge learns she has inherited a large sum of money. Far more than she expected. She had always known there was a trust fund, but had believed the majority of it had been spent on her college tuition. She's shocked and stunned to learn that she has enough to buy a place of her own in the city. Finding a place she really loves turns out to be easier than anticipated. Her years of virtual snooping have given her an excellent insight into the city’s property market and a thorough list of what she is and isn't looking for.

She makes a list of places she wants to see and arranges appointments. Top of her list is a small, one bedroom apartment in a building that’s over a hundred years old. The price is high, due to it’s desirable location. But it’s been listed on various sites for months now and hasn’t been snapped up, so Madge senses a deal.

She drags Katniss along to view it. The apartment is even smaller than she imagined. Somebody has been very creative with the photographs they used online. It hasn’t been renovated in a long time; possibly forty years if the wallpaper in the bedroom is any indication. There’s a very funky smell emanating from the carpet. Madge realizes that any money saved on buying will be spent on renovating. Yet she loves it.

It has high ceilings and tall windows letting in plenty of light. It will be bright and airy in summer, and small and cosy in winter. It has most of the original features. Despite the odd smell, there's a wonderful feeling in the apartment. There’s so much potential. She can already envision herself sitting in a big armchair, by the window, reading a book; or making breakfast in the kitchen; or taking a long luxurious soak in the old-fashioned claw-footed tub, which she will definitely be keeping.

It's hard work keeping a lid on her enthusiasm and excitement in front of the realtor. Thankfully, Katniss is there to point out all the flaws and work that needs to be done. It helps gives the impression that Madge isn't that interested. Then the realtor asks if they'd like to view the apartment next door.

It turns out, the two small apartments were once one much larger apartment, divided in two by a previous owner looking to maximize the resale value. The second is pretty much the same condition, it's smaller but the décor is a little more modern and it doesn't smell nearly so bad. It's only been on the market for two days.

She feels certain that she can talk down the asking price for both, and renovate the two of them with the money she's inherited from her mother.

Katniss is the only thing that keeps Madge from making an offer on the spot. She manages to convince Madge to leave and think it over. They go back to the apartment she shares with Peeta and over pizza, Madge enthuses about the apartments they viewed while Katniss argues that buying the two is pointless and a waste of money. It's Peeta who advises Madge to get the opinion of a surveyor and an architect before making any decisions. “The renovation costs could be a lot more than you think,” he tells her.

When Madge asks if he can recommend anybody, it's Katniss who suggests she asks Gale. He's an engineer, not a surveyor or an architect, but he'll definitely be able to recommend somebody good.

And that's how Madge ends up emailing Gale. To her surprise, he's very interested and enthusiastic about the idea and emails her back with lots of questions. She's thrilled to have somebody knowledgeable to discuss it, she tells him all her plans and he's able to answer a lot of questions she has and offer some ideas of his own. After a few days of emails back and forth, Gale asks if he can see the apartments for himself.

Madge makes another appointment, and on Saturday afternoon she and the realtor meet Gale outside the building. They spend about an hour looking around the two apartments. Gale inspects everything, he points out features she missed and listens attentively as she giddily describes exactly how she envisions the remodeled apartment.

Afterwards they go for coffee in a place nearby so they can talk it over.

“So, what's the verdict?” she asks.

Gale pulls out his notebook. Madge loves that he made notes. “This is just my opinion, you still need to get an actual surveyor in. Structurally, it seems in good condition. There's no damp, the wiring seems sound, the building is well maintained, the original features are intact. The dividing wall should come down easily. I think that they need some work, but it's mainly cosmetic.”

Madge beams in relief. Her giddiness is off the charts now. “So, you don't think it's crazy to buy the two of them?”

“I think it was crazy to split the apartment in the first place. If you can afford the two, then yeah, I think you should go for it,” Gale says. “I think it will be incredible when it's done.”

“Thank you,” she smiles. She does a little happy dance in her seat. She itches to call up the realtor and make an offer. It's killing her to wait. What if somebody gets there first?

Gale tears out a page of paper from his notebook and copies some names from his phone on it. “For the surveying, call Gilbert. He's the best; if there's any problems at all, he'll catch it. I'll give you a couple of architects, but I think the best person for this job is Suzanna. She did a similar thing with her own apartment and she's incredibly good. The others would do a great job too, but I feel she's the best person for this job.”

Madge puts an asterisk beside Suzanna's name. “I really appreciate your help, Gale.”

He waves her thanks away. “It's fun. If I could afford it, I'd do something like this too,” he tells her.

“Everybody else thinks I’m crazy to buy two apartments,” Madge sighs.

Gale laughs. “Katniss told me that I was to talk you out of it. She might actually kill me for not doing what she said.”

“I sort of thought you'd feel the same way; that it was a waste of money to buy two when one would do,” Madge admits.

“Probably in the past I would have,” Gale admits. He takes a bite of his cake before continuing. “Katniss doesn't think you're crazy, by the way. It's just that she's so used to having to count every penny that it's almost impossible for her to imagine buying something you don't need. I was the same for a long time. It's one of the reasons we weren't good together. We never did anything we had to pay to do. Or if we did, it would be at the cheapest price possible. Like if we went to the movies, we'd sneak in bottle of water and share a small popcorn. I don't think we ever had a dessert each in the whole time we dated, we always shared.”

Madge points her for at the chocolate cake he's devouring by himself. “What changed?”

“I started dating other people, and I quickly realized that most woman expect to have their own starter and dessert,” Gale says. He shrugs. “I don't know exactly. A lot of things changed once Katniss was out of the picture. I just realized it's OK to splash out now and again if can afford to.” He grins at her. “Besides, it's your money, not mine.”

Madge laughs. “Speaking of dating. How's that going for you? Is Rainbow still in the picture.”

“Rainbow, no that ended. I’m still dating, there's a few women, but nothing to tell my mother about. How about you?”

She shakes her head. “I'm not dating anyone at the moment. Since my Mom died, it just seems so shallow and pointless, you know? I think I’m done with dating. I want a relationship. I want something meaningful.”

“But how do you get that without dating?” Gale asks. “The only way to meet new people is by going to clubs and going on dates. It sucks. I can't picture ever having a real relationship like I had with Katniss with any of the women I date. Katniss and I were best friends first. We knew each other for years before we started dating. There was a deep connection there, real intimacy and understanding before there was ever anything sexual. It seems impossible to me to develop that kind of relationship with somebody you meet in a bar.” He blows out a breath. “Sorry for the rant.”

“No, it's fine. It's exactly how I feel,” Madge says. “I want to fall in love with my best friend.”

“You and Katniss would make a very cute couple,” Gale teases.

Madge slaps his hand. “Jerk.”

He grins at her, but his smile fades. “I miss being in a relationship.”

“Do you miss Katniss?”

He ponders that question for a while. “Yeah, I miss her. I miss what we had, what I thought we had. I miss our friendship. But that doesn't mean I want to get back together with her. I’m over that.”

Madge squeezes his hand. “You'll find it.”

“You will too,” he assures her. “It's another reason to buy the two apartments; It's an investment for when you have a family.”

“Yeah, you're right,” she says. She hadn't considered it before, but now she does. One day she'll share that apartment with somebody special. They'll cuddle up on the couch together, share their meals in the breakfast nook together and soak in that big tub together.

She wants it so badly, it hurts.

 

**1 year, 11 Months after The Break Up - Panem National Park.**

Independence Day Falls on a Friday this year, so Madge makes the four hour drive home to spend the long weekend with her father. She's been trying to get home more often since her mother's passing because she hates the idea of him rattling around in the big, empty house by himself. She's hinted at him selling it and getting a smaller place for himself but so far he's resisted any attempts to have a real discussion about it. He's been supportive of her new apartment, but she knows that he really wants her to return to Panem one day, hopefully with a brood of grandchildren in tow, and raise them in the family home.

They go to the town park to watch the fireworks display on Friday evening. Her father meets up with some friends, so Madge wanders off to soak up the atmosphere and hopefully find some of her own friends. Now that she's spending more time in Panem, she's trying to reconnect with her old friends who never moved away.

She doesn't find Delly or any of her school friends, but she does see Gale Hawthorne sitting on a bench eating doughnuts. He's by himself. It's hard to gauge his mood from a distance.

As she approaches him, he finishes one and immediately starts another.

“Hungry?” she asks as she takes a seat beside him.

He holds out the box for her to take one. “I'm comfort eating.”

She selects a doughnut from the box. So he knows. She's glad she doesn't have to keep it from him. “You're drowning your feelings in doughnuts?”

“I always bring Posy to watch the fireworks. But this year she told me she wanted to watch them with her friends instead.” He pouts adorably. “My baby sister is too cool for me.”

Oh. That's not what she expected him to say. Madge laughs, and holds her hand up to her mouth to prevent a spray of crumbs from her raspberry glaze. “She was always too cool for you, she was just being nice by hanging out with you before.”

Gale cuts his eyes at her. “That's mean, Undersee.”

“Sorry,” she says, though she's still grinning at the pitiful expression on his face.

He shakes off his glumness. “How's the renovation project going?”

Madge has been keeping him up to date with all the work, but she fills him in on anything that's happened since her last email to him. When she finishes, she realizes he's sitting up and staring at her with a gleam in his eye. “What?”

“Are you free for a couple of hours tomorrow night? Around seven?”

“Why?” She's not committing to anything until she knows what he has in store for her.

“I need help with a thing and you're just the person for the job.”

She sighs. She does owe him. “Fine, I’m free.”

“Great. It's slightly illegal. Wear good walking shoes.”

So the following evening, Gale pulls up outside her house in a green pick-up that looks vaguely familiar to her.

“Who does this belong to?” she asks as he pulls away.

“My friend Thom. You know him I think?”

She nods. “Delly's boyfriend? With the broken nose?”

“That's the guy,” Gale says with a chuckle. “Anyway, he's proposing to Delly tonight and he needs a little help to get it set up. That's where we come in.”

Madge squeals a little and grabs his arm. “Seriously? That's amazing! Oh my god, Delly will be so happy. This is so cool. I just had lunch with her today, and she has no idea. She's dying for him to propose.”

“That's good to know,” Gale says.

They drive a little way out of town, then Gale turns up an old dirt track that leads into the woods of the national park. It's a bumpy ride and Madge has to brace herself against the dash to prevent injuries. Eventually Gale comes a stop in an overgrown clearing.

“We have to walk the rest of the way,” he tells her, climbing out.

From the bed of the truck, he grabs several bags. Her hands her two. “Can you carry these? It should take us about ten minutes to get there.”

They're kind of heavy but Madge can manage them for ten minutes. Gale meanwhile slings a long bundle of cloth and sticks over his shoulder and grabs another two bags before heading off.

Madge follows in his footsteps. “What are we doing exactly and how is this slightly illegal?”

“Did Delly ever tell you about her first time with Thom?” Gale asks. At Madge's negative response he continues. “They were supposed to go camping, but then his brother-in-law fell off the roof and had to go to the hospital, and his sister went with him, so Thom and Delly ended up watching his nephews. They built a fort out of sheets for the boys and played camp out. And then when the boys went to bed, Thom and Delly crawled into the fort and desecrated it in very unholy ways.”

“That's cute.”

Gale nods. “Anyway, his idea is to set up a tent here in the woods and propose to her there. And it's kind of illegal because you're only supposed to camp in designated camping sites, but he wants to do it in this place because it's where they always hike out to.”

“Do you think they've desecrated that place in unholy ways too?” Madge jokes.

Gale pauses and frowns, the realization just hitting him. “Now I do.”

Madge laughs.

They reach the spot a few minutes later, and Madge drops the bags to the ground in relief. She flexes her hands and arms to get some feeling back in them.

Gale lowers the tent and bags he's carrying. “You OK?”

“Yep.”

He sorts through the bags, pulling out a rolled up air mattress and pump and sets them up. “Can you watch that and I'll get the tent set up.”

Madge has to hold the nozzle in place to make sure that the air goes in. She watches Gale as he sets up the tent. It's literally made from bedsheets that have been stitched together.

“He paid my mom to sew them,” Gale says when she comments on it.

“What if it rains?”

“It should stay fine, but I have a nylon tent I’m going to leave for them just in case.”

Madge is impressed. “He thought of everything.”

When the mattress is fully inflated, Gale sets it on the ground sheet and fixes the tent around it. It only takes him a few minutes to get the tent set up. When he's done, they step back and admire his handiwork.

Gale claps his hands “Alright. I’m going to go back and get the next load. In the meantime, you can decorate the inside. Everything you need is in that bag.” He points to the canvas rucksack that Madge had hauled to the clearing.

In it she finds sheets and blankets, plus garlands of flowers. She covers the mattress with the sheets and strings the flowers through the poles above the mattress. Gale returns and tosses in some pillows and cushions, deliberately targeting her. She giggles and fends him off. He leaves a bag of battery powered candles, which she situates around the tent. When she's done, she climbs out to find Gale creating a path from the woods to the tent door, marked with lanterns and more battery powered lights.

In the twilight of the evening, the effect is magical and very romantic. “Delly is a very lucky girl,” she says.

Gale grins. “And Thom is going to get very lucky tonight.” He pulls out his phone and types a quick message. “They'll be here in about forty minutes.”

The last task is to gather up the empty bags, which Gale folds into one large one and hides away in the hollowed truck of a dead tree close by. There's one last bag, from which he pulls a bottle of champagne and two flutes, a small bag of rose petals and a black velvet ring box.

They climb inside the tent, making sure not to dirty the sheets with their boots.

“Nice work,” Gale comments. He lies down on the mattress and stares up at the jersey ceiling. Madge lowers herself beside him.

“Did you ever think of proposing to Katniss?” she asks and immediately bites her lip. It's a stupid question. She shouldn't have broached the subject. But it's been on her mind a lot lately. “Sorry.”

Gale closes his eyes. “I wanted to, but I knew she wasn't ready. I thought if I waited long enough she'd change her mind. Guess I was half right.”

Madge props herself up on her elbow. “You know?”

“She called me during the week. She thought it was best it came from her,” he says.

“Oh. How do you feel about it?”

Gale rubs his face and laughs ruefully. “It's complicated. My ego is bruised, I guess. It hurts a little still. But I’m OK with it. I’m glad she's happy, but I also kind of hope that he gets run over by a bus at the same time.”

“I never thought you weren't good enough for her,” Madge blurts out. She remembers him saying that to her when she'd found him crying on the stairwell minutes after the break up. He didn't give her a chance to refute it then and she's wanted to ever since. “I though you weren't right for each other, but I think you're a good person Gale and any girl would be very lucky to have you.”

He cocks his head to the side to look at her and smiles. “Thanks Madge,” he says genuinely. He reaches up and touches her cheek. Maybe the gesture was supposed to be playful, but the moment he touches her, an electrical charge runs through them. Madge realizes that she's hovering right over him, all she has to do is lower her face three inches and their lips would meet. She swallows as Gale's gaze drops to her mouth.

Then his phone beeps and the moment passes.

“It's Thom, we have ten minutes,” Gale says. They straighten out the sheets and plump the cushions. Madge scatters the rose petals and Gale lays the ring in the middle of the bed. They climb out and lower the flap.

Gale grabs Madge's hand and they hurry out of sight. They duck down behind the trees until they hear the sound of approaching footsteps and then Delly's squeal of delight as she sees the glade for the first time.

“Come on,” Gale says, tugging Madge along so that Thom and Delly have some privacy.

They make it back to the truck in no time and Gale drives her home. Neither of them mentions the moment in the tent.

When they pull up in front of her house, Gale thanks her for helping out.

“It was no trouble,” she tells him. They fall silent, facing each other in the darkness of the cab. For a wild, impulsive moment, she considers leaning over and kissing him, but instead she bids him goodnight and climbs out.

 

**2 years after The Break Up - Haymitch Abernathy's backyard.**

Normally, Madge would never dream of wearing white to a wedding, but as the bride is wearing red, she decides it allowed. Besides, it's not really a wedding, it's the 'celebration of a marriage'. Just to be sure, she had sent a picture of the dress to Katniss two weeks in advance and Katniss had insisted that Madge wear it.

Still, as Madge walks into Haymitch Abernathy's backyard, she can't help but think she should have worn the purple dress she'd brought with her to Panem as a back up. She tugs on her hem and wonders if she has time to go home and change before the newlyweds arrive.

But it's already too late. Somebody announces that “they're here”, and the small crowd gathers and faces the house to watch Peeta and Katniss emerge together to cheers and loud congratulations. The couple are hand-in-hand and beaming. Even Katniss who usually abhors being the center of attention is smiling so widely at her new husband that she barely notices how all eyes are on her. Katniss looks so beautiful and radiant in her flame red dress that Madge thinks all brides should wear red. She relaxes and stops worrying about the color of her own dress.

Madge grabs a glass of wine and finds a seat on a plastic lawn chair and chats with a Mellark cousin as Peeta and Katniss mingle with their friends and family. They had married in a small ceremony in the town hall, witnessed only by Prim and Peeta's brothers. Katniss hadn't even wanted to have any kind of reception, but Peeta, with Prim's help, and persuaded her to have a party. She's agreed to a casual barbeque in the backyard of her uncle Haymitch's house as a compromise.

Uncle Haymitch was a functioning alcoholic who lived on the outskirts of town, on a large unkempt property. Somebody had managed to cut the overgrown grass to accommodate the forty or so guests, and had strung up lanterns and put out patio furniture. It was a million miles away from the formal nature of every other wedding Madge has ever been to, but she loves it. The only tradition that Peeta had insisted on was a three tier wedding cake which he'd made himself and which was proudly displayed on the back porch. Madge's mouth waters just thinking about the cake.

When Katniss and Peeta approach the table she's sitting at, Madge jumps up to hug them and wish well. As Madge is hugging Peeta, three people walk around the side of the house. For a moment, she thinks it's Gale accompanying his mother and sister before she realizes it's his younger brother Rory. Once again she's struck with the thought that the Hawthorne family got more than their fair share of the gorgeous gene.

When she pulls away from Peeta, Madge sees that Katniss is watching at the Hawthornes with a look of disappointment. “I guess he didn't come,” she says softly.

Madge's eyebrows shoot up. “You asked Gale to come?”

Katniss shrugs. “I know it's weird. I know we'll never go back to being best friends, but I still want him in my life. He's family, you know? He said he'd come.”

“He probably meant it when he said it, Katniss,” Peeta says. “But maybe it was just too hard for him still. Just because he didn't want to be here today doesn't mean he hates you.”

Katniss looks doubtful, but she smiles anyway and heads towards the Hawthornes to welcome them while Peeta moves on to the next table. She chats briefly with them before rejoining Peeta.

Madge finds herself watching the Hawthornes who have been joined by Prim. They all look relaxed and happy to be here. Her thoughts drift to Gale, as they have so often since that evening in the tent.

She hasn't seen him since. He's been promoted at work and seems to spend a lot of time traveling, but they still email each other a lot. Probably more than ever, actually. And not even about the apartment any more. They discuss a lot of other things too – bad dates, and great new Scandinavian TV series, and annoying co-workers and Gale's new, very loud neighbors. She hadn't mentioned the wedding, or anything to do with Katniss and Gale had never brought it up either. She'd assumed that he wasn't invited, though he had mentioned he might be home that weekend.

In truth, though she hadn't expected to see him at the wedding, she is hoping to see him before heading back to the city. She wants to have a conversation with him in person, she wants to find out if seeing him in the flesh gives her the same butterflies that she gets when her email alert pings. Judging by the fluttering in her stomach when Rory stepped into the yard, the answer is going to be yes.

The implications of that scare her.

Later, after the food has been eaten and the cake cut, Peeta's brother sets up his iPod with a special wedding mix. The music is fun and catchy, and almost everybody is dancing. Madge has kicked off her heals and enjoys the feel of the grass under her feet. She feels a tap on her shoulder and spins around to find Gale.

She freezes on the spot. “Hey.”

“Hi.”

“You came.”

He nods and glances around. “Yeah. I just got in. I'm not staying but I wanted to stop by and wish Katniss good luck.”

“That's really good of you,” Madge says. “I know it will mean a lot to her.”

Gale glances over to where Katniss is sitting with Peeta, her eyes are on Gale. He looks back to Madge. “Will you be around for the weekend? Maybe we can grab a coffee together?”

Madge nods. “I'd love to. Text me.”

“OK.” He nods his head in Katniss' direction. “I'll go say hello to the newlyweds.”

Madge walks over the drinks table and pours herself another glass of wine, pretending not to watch as Gale hugs Katniss and then gives Peeta the briefest of handshakes. They talk for a few minutes before he walks over to his family. Madge can see the relief and happiness on Katniss' face. She grabs her new husband and pulls him out for a dance.

Gale chats to his mother for a little while before he hugs her and leaves. Impulsively, Madge grabs her shoes and hurries after him. He turns in surprise when she calls his name.

She's not sure why she's followed him, or what she wants to say to him.

“I'm fine,” he tells her before she say anything. He sounds like he really means it. “I'm not going to go cry in a stairwell or anything.”

“I'm not... I didn't... That's good, but it's not why I followed you out here.”

“OK.” He sticks his hands in his pockets. “You look good, by the way. That's a pretty dress.”

She looks down, flustered, and picks at a blade of grass that's sticking to the skirt. “I wouldn't normally wear white to a wedding but Katniss told me I should wear it.”

Gale chuckles. “I wasn't having a go at you. It's really a great dress.”

“Thank you,” she says. Her cheeks are burning. He turns to leave again, but she doesn't want him to go. She wants him to stay. Or she wants to go with him. “Can I get a ride with you?”

Gale frowns. “You want to leave now? You looked like you were having fun.”

Madge shrugs. “Yeah, I'm tired. I was going to call a cab in a few minutes but if you can give me a ride, that would be great.”

He narrows his eyes. “I really am fine, Madge. If you're worried about me, don't be.”

She moves closer to him. “I'm not worried. I know you're fine. Really, I just want to go.” And it was true. She'd much rather spend fifteen minutes alone with Gale in his car, then another hour at the party. “Let me just grab my purse.”

“Alright.”

She hurries back and collects her purse and says a few quick goodbyes, grabs another slice of cake and makes her way back to where Gale is waiting. He's propped against the gate, munching on a piece of cake.

“Oh, you have some. I was going to give you this,” she says, holding out the pilfered slice. He makes a grab for it, but she holds it behind her back.

“Don't make me wrestle you for. I'm a lot bigger than you,” he jokes. But there's a glint in his eye that sucks the breath from Madge's body.

She swallows and shakes her head to clear it of images of wrestling Gale. “No. I'd hate for you to get fat.”

Gale laughs and pulls up the bottom of his shirt. He pats his toned stomach. “Thanks for thinking of me.”

Madge tears her gaze from his abs. “That's my pleasure.”

He gestures to the street. “I'm parked down the street.”

She falls into step beside him and laughs as he produces another slice from one of his pockets. Deciding that he's adequately catered for, she starts eating the slice she'd brought with her.

“This is really good cake,” Gale says. “I'd probably have left me for him too if he made me cakes like this.” He stops beside his car and finishes the rest of his cake in one bite before opening the door for her.

Once he's settled in, Madge turns in her seat to face him. “Why did you come today? I can't imagine going to the wedding of one my exes.”

Gale sighs. “There were a couple of reasons. Did you know Rory and Prim are dating?”

Madge shakes her head.

“They're pretty crazy about each other. I know they're really young, and there's no guarantee, but there's something about them that makes me think they'll make it. Which means Katniss and I really will be family.” Gale sighs. “It got me thinking. I don't want things between us to be awkward and tense forever. Katniss is family and that matters to me more than anything else. Today seemed like a good day to put the past behind us and start fresh.”

Madge smiles at him. “I think it was really great of you. It meant a lot to Katniss.”

“Thanks,” he says gruffly.

“Was it hard?”

Gale is silent for a moment until he pulls up at a red light. “Not as hard as I thought it would be. I expected it to really hurt, to know she was married. But actually, I really am fine. I'm glad she wasn't wearing a big white dress. I don't know if I could have handled that, despite everything.” The light turns green and he turns the car in the direction of her house. He shoots her a grin. “I'm still kind of hoping that Peeta gets run over by a bus, but like only breaks his leg. That's progress.”

Madge laughs again. “You're the bigger person.”

“I know.”

She leans back in her seat, feeling relaxed. “It was a nice wedding. I think I'd like something like that. What about you?”

He shrugs. “I don't know. Getting married is a big deal, I'd think I'd like to celebrate it properly... Don't laugh-”

She shakes her head to indicate that she won't.

He looks a little embarrassed as he admits “I really want to do it properly. I want the church, and the flowers and the girl in the white dress.” He looks at her then, his gaze so intense and deep that she has to look down. She fiddles with her hem. Her cheeks flush when it hits her that she's wearing a white dress. He doesn’t mean it like that.

But when she looks back at him, he's still gazing down at her. She realizes with a start that they're in front of her house and he's not driving any more.

“You have frosting,” Gale says, gently wiping his thumb under her lip.

Madge feels her breath catch at his touch. Gale pulls away and sucks the frosting from the tip of his thumb. They sit in silence for another minute before Madge remembers that she's supposed to get out. “Um, thanks for the ride.”

“Sure.”

She climbs out of his car but pauses as Gale climbs out too. He tugs on his earlobe uncomfortably. “Madge, will you be free to get that coffee with me tomorrow?”

“Yes, of course. Text me when you want to meet.” She internally cringes at how eager she sounds.

Gale smiles. “I will.”

It looks like he wants to say more, so Madge waits, but when he remains silent, she smiles at him and turns towards her house.

“Wait,” Gale calls. She spins back to him. He's looking up at the sky, summoning his courage. When he looks back at her, she gives him an encouraging smile. “When I said that I wanted to put the past behind me and start fresh, I meant that. So, this isn't about getting back at Katniss somehow. I want you to know that.”

A thousand butterflies take flight in Madge's belly. She nods.

Gale steps towards her. “Instead of coffee, would you have dinner with me? As a date?”

She nods again. “I'd love to.”

A huge smile breaks across Gale's face and he sighs in relief. “Great. I'll pick you up at seven tomorrow?”

“I can't wait,” she tells him.

“OK then,” Gale grins.

They stand smiling at each other like idiots for another moment, before Gale climbs back into his car and drives away. Madge watches until his tail lights disappear around the corner. Then she goes inside, already counting down the minutes to their date.


	2. Afterwards

**After their first date.**

The biggest problem with Panem is how small it is.

There’s literally three eateries in the entire town; four if you count the country club and its four figure a year annual membership. If you’re going on a dinner date, your options are even more limited as the Mellark’s cafe closes at five. So that leaves two options - Greasy Sae’s which does great burgers but no alcohol, and Rooba’s Bar which serves alcohol and burgers which are adequate at best, and only if the cook is having a good day.

Gale and Madge opt for Rooba’s on their first date. They could have gone to the country club - Madge’s father has membership there, but Madge remembers sitting in a debate club meeting one evening back in high school, her cheeks burning, as Gale delivered a diatribe on how the country club was a symbol of everything that was wrong with America. So, she never even suggests it.

“I should have thought this through,” Gale muses over a shared plate of cheese fries. “Or postponed until we got back to the city.”

Madge wants to assure him that’s fine, but she’s interrupted before she can. It’s the fourth or fifth time that’s happened. Gale was always well-liked and admired back when he was just the town heartthrob, now that he’s also the ‘local-boy done good’ it feels like everybody wants to talk him.

Nobody realizes they’re on a date. People are usually surprised to see them together, but assume they’re just friends. Gale never corrects any assumptions. She’s fine with that - she doesn’t want the whole town knowing her business - until she hears Gale say that he’s helping her with the remodel of her new apartment.

After that she loses her appetite, and when the waitress asks if they’d like to see a dessert menu, she says no even though Gale clearly wants to say yes. She turns down his offer of another drink too. “I’m tired, I think I’ll have an early night,” she tells him.

He looks disappointed, but pays the bill and walks her home. The walk is uncomfortable and silent, but mercifully brief.

Gale pauses on the sidewalk in front of her house and Madge feels another wave of annoyance with him. Is he not even going to walk her to the front door? She’s glad to see her father’s car is missing from the garage which means he’s still at the club. She’s not in the mood for any company right now. She just wants to change into her pjs, devour an entire chocolate cake and wallow on the couch.

She wants to forget about this whole date, draw a line under the whole endeavour and go back to being email acquaintances with Gale.

“So…” Gale begins awkwardly. He scratches the back of his head. “This went well.”

Madge gives him a sour look.

He huffs and kicks away a stone lying at his foot. “I’m sorry. This has been a weird weekend for me, I don’t think my head’s in the game. Can we try this again in the city? In a proper restaurant, where everybody isn’t watching to see if I’m going to have a breakdown.”

Madge feels her annoyance dissipate as she thinks about the night from Gale’s perspective. All those people coming up to him weren’t being friendly, they were angling for some juicy gossip about how Gale was handling Katniss’ marriage to Peeta. Since he was fourteen, the whole town had assumed he’d be the one to marry Katniss. She admits to herself if she didn’t have a lot of insight into the situation, she’d be burning with curiosity too.

She smiles encouragingly at him. “That sounds like a good idea.”

His relief is obvious. “Thank you.”

There’s a moment of awkwardness then. How do they end this? Do they hug? Kiss? Shake hands? Are they actually dating yet? Or still just friends?

Madge decides that she needs to salvage this night somehow. “Our housekeeper made my dad a chocolate cake today. Do want to come in and have a slice?”

Gale grins. “I would love a slice.”

She ignores the double entendre and leads him inside.

She serves them a generous portion of cake and a scoop of ice cream each and they sit on opposite sides of the island.

“Why did you tell that guy you were just remodelling my apartment?” Madge asks.

“Because he’s the biggest gossip I know,” Gale says. “I guarantee you the entire town already knows that I was ‘drowning my sorrows’ in Rooba’s tonight. I’d rather not have everybody know we’re dating yet.”

“So, you’re not embarrassed by me,” she’s teasing him now and he knows it.

Maybe it’s because they’re alone and no longer under scrutiny, or because they’ve cleared the air, or maybe it’s the chocolate cake, but all the awkwardness is gone. There’s silence as they eat, but it’s comfortable now.

Gale scrapes the last of the chocolate from his plate and looks around. “This house is huge. Doesn’t your dad get lonely here all by himself?”

“He keeps himself pretty busy, and he’s been spending a lot of time at the club,” Madge explains. She stands up and takes their plates to the sink to rinse them. “I’ve tried to talk to him about selling it and getting something smaller, but he’s resisting. It’s been in our family for four generations and he wants to pass it on to me when I have a family.”

“Is that something you want to do? Raise your family here in Panem?”

She shrugs. “I think so. I mean, I haven’t drawn up a plan or anything. And of course it depends on a lot of other factors, but I can definitely see myself raising a family here.”

Gale nods. “Yeah, me too. I can’t imagine raising a family in the city.”

Their eyes meet and he smiles at her. For a moment she imagines them moving back to Panem together to live in this house and raise a family. She smiles at the thought.

He’s grinning too as he reaches out to catch her hand and pull her to him. She curls her arms around his shoulders and steps into the space between his legs. His hands slide around her waist and slip under her top so that his hands are caressing the bare skin of her lower back.

“My dad will be home soon,” she murmurs to him just as his lips descend on hers. She doesn’t know if the warning is for her sake, or his.

 

**After the first time they… you know.**

Their second date goes so much better. So much so that they wake up curled around each other in Madge’s bed. They share a few sweet, slightly gross morning-breath kisses, before pulling apart laughing as their stomachs rumble.

It’s well after eleven already. “Is that the right time? It’s not really that late, is it?” Gale asks. When Madge confirms that it is, he shakes his head in disbelief.

“It was pretty late when we went to sleep,” Madge reminds him with a smirk.

He returns her smirk with a wolfish one of his own. “Although it was pretty early when we went to bed.”

Madge blushes. He’s not wrong. They’d met for an early dinner with the plan of seeing a movie together afterwards. Instead, they’d skipped the movie and come straight back to her place. They’d been so hot for each other, that they were mauling each other in the cab and barely made it inside her door before tearing their clothes off.

She blames it on the three week delay between their first and second date. Thanks to his new job, Gale is travelling a lot and they hadn’t been able to get together since that night back home. They had spent a lot of time on the phone and video-chatting with each other, which meant heavy duty flirting but no physical contact. It had been the most tortuous kind of foreplay. By last night, Madge had been tempted to just tell him to skip dinner and come over to her place, but she’d hadn’t been brave enough. In any case, the decision to eat first had been a wise choice; they’d needed the calories.

Gale offers to make breakfast while she showers. She grabs his discarded shirt on the way into the bathroom so she can wear it when she’s done. It’s a cliche, but she doesn’t care. From the way Gale smoulders when she walks into the kitchen wearing just his shirt she can tell he doesn’t care either.

The unintended bonus of wearing Gale’s shirt is that he’s forced to go topless. She sits at the island watching him flip pancakes; the way the muscles in his back flex every time he moves is mesmerising. He catches her ogling him as he slices the strawberries and smirks at her.

Over breakfast they talked about their plans for the day - the builders were almost done with Madge’s apartment and she’s itching to get decorating. She planned to spend the day picking out bathroom tiles and curtains. Gale listens as she tells him her plans, though he’s not quite as interested in her plans for the color scheme as he was about which wall she was planning to knock.

When they’re done, Madge gathers their plates to wash them. Now it’s Gale’s turn to sit and watch, but he’s not satisfied with just sitting. As soon as Madge’s hands have been immersed in the hot soapy water, he stands up and positions himself behind her. He presses a series of kisses down her neck and pushes his shirt off her shoulder so he can trail kisses along her skin. His hands slide around her waist, one travels upwards to cup her breasts through the cotton. His other hand glides lower, down her body to her thigh and then under the material. He makes a guttural sound when he finds that she’s not wearing anything beneath the shirt.

Madge moans as his fingers find her centre, wet and waiting for him. Her head lolls back against his chest as he continues his ministrations. She moves her hips, grinding her ass against his cock eliciting a groan from him.

“I was thinking,” Gale murmurs as he continues to kiss her skin. “If the builders are still working on your apartment, it’s probably too early to start picking out paint.”

“That’s a good point,” Madge agrees, her voice coming out in pants.

His undoes the button of her shirt, slipping his hand inside to touch her breasts.. “You should probably wait a little longer.”

“I think you’re probably right.” She braces herself against the sink as Gale’s hand speeds up bringing her to orgasm. Once the waves of pleasure have ceased she collapses back against him. When her breathing is under control she laughs. “So, I guess I’m free today.”

“Good.” Gale scoops her into his arms and carries her to the bedroom.

 

**After their first public outing.**

It’s not like they were keeping it a secret or anything. They just waited a while before telling people back home that they were dating. It was early in the relationship still, and neither of them had any interest in being the topic of gossip.

Thom’s birthday is close to Thanksgiving, and Delly decides to throw him a surprise party. By now, Madge and Gale have been dating long enough that they both agree it’s time to come out as a couple, so they drive back to Panem together and Gale picks her up from her father’s house to take her to the party.

There’s a lot of raised eyebrows and shocked expressions when they walk into the Cartwright’s home hand-in-hand, but most people get over it pretty quickly.There’s a few wolf-whistles and suggestive noises when they leave, but they just laugh them off. They’ve both had a couple of drinks so despite the cold, they walk back to Madge’s house; Madge tucked into Gale’s side.

“You and Thom looked very cosy together,” Madge comments, referring to the moment she had come back from the bathroom to find her boyfriend and his best male friend hugging each other.

Gale laughs. “He asked me to be his best man. Got very emotional and made me hug him so nobody would see him crying.”

“Did you cry?”

“No!”

Madge nudges his side. “You did, you’re such a liar. You totally cried, crybaby.”

“Fine, I cried. I’m a twenty-first century man in touch with my feelings, I can admit to crying.”

“Wuss,” she teases.

With a laugh, Gale pulls her closer and leans down to kiss her. It’s supposed to be a peck, but Madge grabs his collar to keep him there a little longer and Gale surrenders without a fight, wrapping his arms even tighter.

It’s only at the pointed sound of a throat being cleared that they pull apart, to find a shocked Katniss and Peeta staring at them. For the first time Madge notices they’re right outside Mellark’s bakery.

“Hey,” Gale says, his voice sounds husky. He coughs to clear it. “Dinner with the in-laws?”

Katniss nods.

“We’re eating with Katniss’ family tomorrow so we had dinner with my parents tonight,” Peeta elaborates. “Although I’m not sure I’m actually going to be able to eat anything tomorrow; I’m stuffed.” His tone is normal and conversational, but his eyes are burning with curiosity. “Were you guys at Thom’s party?”

“Yeah, we thought we’d see you there,” Gale says. Madge likes that he said ‘we’ so naturally.

“We wanted to go but, my mom…” Peeta trails off with a little shrug. He doesn’t need to say anything more, they all know what Peeta’s mother is like. “How was the party?”

“It was good; when we left Delly was singing Whitney Houston,” Madge says.

Peeta laughs. “It’s not a party until Delly has belted out at least one verse of I will always love you.”

“Murdered a verse, more like,” Gale jokes. He puts his arm around Madge again as she shivers in the cold. “We should get going. Goodnight.”

“Do you need a ride? We’re going your way,” Peeta offers. “I can drop Madge off on the way.”

Madge and Gale exchange glances. They haven’t a chance to be alone all night at the party and want to be able to say goodnight in private and at their own leisure.

“We’ll walk,” Gale decides for them. “But, thanks.”

“Will you be in Rooba’s on Friday night?” Madge asks.

Peeta nods. “That’s the plan, unless I’m still in my food coma.” He pats his stomach and Madge notices that top button on his jeans is open.

“Cool, see you then,” Gale says already moving off.

“So you’ll be coming together?” Katniss blurts out, the first thing she’s said to them all evening.

Gale turns back to Katniss. “Yes. We’ll be together.”

“Are you dating?”

Madge nods. “Yes. For a couple of months now.” She can feel her heart rate picking up, afraid of Katniss’ reaction.

Katniss tilts her head to the side for a moment, observing them closely before she smiles. “That’s great. Good for you guys.”

“Thanks,” Gale grins. “See you Friday.”

“Happy Thanksgiving,” Madge calls over her shoulder.

They walk in silence for a little longer until they turn the corner onto Madge’s street.

“What time will you be back from your aunt’s tomorrow?” Gale asks.

“Dunno. It’s usually around seven or eight. Depends on my dad.” She looks up at him, wondering why he’s asking.

Gale scratches his eyebrow, a nervous tick of his. “Do you want to come over when you get back; officially meet my family? I mean, if you don’t want to leave your dad alone, I understand.”

If past holidays were anything to go by, her dad would be following Peeta into a food coma, helped no doubt by the couple of brandies he and his brother-in-law will surely indulge in after dinner. She had been dreading the long night at home in their big empty house with only her dad snoring away in his favorite armchair for company. “That sounds great,” she agrees readily. “I’d love to.”

“Good. My mom is dying to get to know you.”

Madge tries not to show how elated that makes her. “So, I guess we’re officially official.”

“Seems that way,” he says, leaning down to kiss her.

“I was worried about how Katniss would react,” Madge confesses. “I thought maybe she would be against it.”

Gale frowns. “Why would she be against us?”

“She’s kind of possessive about you, you know,” she points out. “Even still.”

“She’s afraid of losing people, is all. That’s why she took so long to break up with me even though she wanted out of our relationship long before Peeta started worming his way in; she was afraid that I’d walk out of her life and never come back. The fact that I’m dating one her best friends means that I’m not going anywhere.”

“I wonder how she would have reacted to Rain,” Madge teases.

Gale frowns for a moment, then remembers the girl he’d briefly dated when he’d first started seeing other people after Katniss. He laughs. “I kind of wish they had met, that would have been something.”

They step onto her porch. There’s a light still on in the living room which means her dad is probably still up. She feels guilty that she hasn’t spent any time with him since she came home. “I should go in. My dad is probably waiting up for me.”

“OK.” Instead of letting her go, Gale pulls her closer and kisses her deeply. They stay like that for a while, wrapped in each others arms and sharing long, slow kisses. Despite the heat they’re generating, they can’t keep out the cold and eventually they both shiver. “I should let you go in.”

He kisses her one last time and steps off the porch. “Goodnight.”

“Night.”

Gale is almost out at the street before he turns around and dashes back up the path to where she’s still standing on the porch. “This year, I’m thankful for you.”

“Gale,” she melts. She cups his cheek and kisses him tenderly. “I’m thankful for you too.”

 

**After their first fight.**

Apart from his to-die-for Red Velvet cake, the other thing that Madge truly appreciates about Peeta is that he can tell the difference between Dusty Rose and Sienna Rose. And not only can tell them apart, but has strong opinions on both. Gale had merely shrugged when she’d asked his thoughts on what color to paint her bedroom.

So it’s Peeta who Madge drags along to help pick out paint samples and then back her apartment to paint them on the wall and see which one she likes best. Peeta is trying to persuade her towards Sunset Rose, but Madge finds a little too orangey for her taste and prefers the darker Serendipity Rose. They’re sitting on the bed, hotly debating the choices when Madge catches movement from the corner of her eyes and turns to find Gale standing in the bedroom doorway watching them.

“Gale!” He’s supposed to be away on a site visit, not due back until tomorrow, but here he is. Delighted to see him, Madge hops up and  throws her arms around him, pressing up on her toes to kiss him. Gale’s posture is rigid, he doesn’t return her hug or lean down to accept her kiss. His eyes are stormy and grey and fixed on Peeta.

Reading the tension, Peeta grabs his jacket. “I should be off. Gale, it’s good to see you. We should all have dinner together some time.”

“Sure, that would be great,” Madge says, trying to keep her tone light. Gale says nothing but continues to glare at Peeta; annoyed at her boyfriend’s rudeness, Madge grabs Peeta and hugs him. “Thanks for all your help today. I’ll let you know what I decide.”

“What was he doing here?” Gale asks the moment the door closes behind Peeta.

“I asked him to help me pick out a color for the bedroom,” she says, waving to the patches of color on the walls. “What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t getting home until tomorrow.”

Gale scoffs. “I finished up early and there was no point hanging around so I switched my flight. I didn’t mean to interrupt your time with Peeta. You never told me that he was helping you.”

Madge bristles at the implication she should tell him who she’s hanging out with. “I didn’t know I was supposed to. Am I to give you a list of everybody I plan to spend time with, or just the guys?”

“That’s not what I meant,” Gale says, rolling his eyes. “I just didn’t know Peeta was so involved in your decoration plans.”  

“He’s an artist, he’s good at this. I value his opinion,” Madge shrugs. She’s not going to stop being friends with Peeta just because Gale still can’t get over his jealousy towards him. It’s been two years now. She thought he was over Katniss, so why can’t he let his animosity towards Peeta go already? Not wanting to fight, she bites back those comments and pushes past Gale, and into the kitchen. “I wish you’d told me you were coming back, I would have made dinner.” She opens the fridge and stares at the contents, trying to figure out what she can do for the two of them. “Is beef stir fry OK?”

“Sure.”

She sets about making dinner, angrily chopping vegetables and banging saucepan lids and glaring at her boyfriend. Gale sits on the couch occupied with his phone, pointedly ignoring her. Neither of them talk and a storm quietly brews.

When the argument does come, it’s not about Katniss or Peeta. It’s about how Gale loads the dishwasher wrong despite Madge telling him at on three different occasions how to do it the right way. But Gale has a masters in engineering and understands the working principle of a dishwasher and Madge’s way apparently ‘sucks ass’.

Then there’s a lot of yelling and a lot of things get said before finally Madge storms into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her with a scream of frustration. She leans back against the door, brushing away angry tears. There’s silence from the living room and then the apartment door slams.

She covers her face with her hands as her angry tears becomes sobs. She’d believed him when he’d told her he was over Katniss and it hurts, physically hurts to realize that it’s not true, that he’s still in love with his ex-girlfriend, that the mere sight of Katniss’ husband can still make him jealous.

Madge trudges to her bed, picking up a pillow from where it had fallen on the floor earlier and sits down. She reaches blindly for a tissue on her nightstand and wipes her eyes and blows her nose.

Is it over between them? It has to be, she can’t be with somebody who is still in love with his ex-girlfriend. But thinking that she’s lost Gale for good makes her sick to her stomach. She wonders will they have to have that conversation, or does Gale already know it’s over too? Will he even care? When Katniss had ended things with him, Madge had found Gale sitting in the stairwell crying and -

Madge lowers her hands from her face slowly.

The last words he’d spat at her before she’d stormed out of the kitchen ring in her ears. “Maybe you should get Peeta to do it for you.”

For the first time she considers if maybe Gale wasn’t angry at Peeta’s presence because of Katniss, maybe it was because of her. He’d walked into the apartment and found her and Peeta sitting on her bed laughing together.

How many times had Gale walked in on Katniss and Peeta laughing together? How many times had he caught Katniss quickly hiding her phone when he entered a room? How many times had Katniss blown him off to hang out with Peeta? How many times had he sat and watched Katniss and Peeta together and known they were more than friends? How did it feel then? How did it feel tonight to see Madge with Peeta and wonder if history was repeating itself?

With an almost violent expletive, Madge throws the pillow aside and races from the room and out of the apartment. She stabs the call button on the elevator repeatedly and begs it to hurry up but it looks like it’s stuck on the second floor. She kicks the door and swears again as pain shoots up her bare feet. Then deciding that she can’t wait for the elevator any longer, she runs down the corridor to the stairwell.

When she pulls open the door, Gale is sitting on the stairs, his head in his hands. He looks up at her and immediately jumps to his feet. “I’m sorry.”

She shakes her head. “No. No, I’m sorry. Gale, there’s nothing going on between Peeta and me. Nothing, I promise. And I know Katniss probably said the same thing to you, but I mean it.”

“I know that,” Gale says insistently. “I don’t think there’s anything going on between you. I’m sorry for acting like a jealous asshole. It’s just that when I walked in and saw you two together - it was deja vu. I didn’t handle it well, I’m sorry.

Madge laughs a little and takes a step closer so that she can place her hands on his shoulders. He’s a still standing a couple of steps below her so for once she has the height advantage. “I understand why it upset you.”

Gale takes a step up so they’re at eye level now. “I over-reacted. Although walking in on you and Peeta on a bed together is pretty much a scene from an actual nightmare I’ve had.”

“Peeta is a friend. I have never considered him in a sexual way, ever. He makes good cakes and I value his opinion on paint color and I think he’s wonderful for Katniss, but that’s it. As far as I’m concerned, Peeta is a Ken doll.”

Gale had his mouth open to say something, but he closes it and frowns in confusion. “A Kendall?”

“Ken. Doll.” She enunciates. “As in Barbie’s eunuch boyfriend.”

For a moment he stares at her, and then he laughs. “What?”

Madge shrugs. “I have never seen him in a sexual way. Ever. I don’t view him that way at all.” She tugs him closer and presses her forehead to his. “You, on the other hand...”

Gale slips his arms around her hips and pulls her closer so they can kiss. When they break apart, his voice his husky. “So I’m forgiven for acting like a jealous asshole?”

“Yes. Am I?”

“You weren’t acting like a jealous asshole,” he chuckles.

Madge leans back a little so she can look him in the eye. She figures it’s best to lay all their cards on the table. “I was. I thought you were pissed at Peeta because you were still jealous about Katniss.”

“Oh.” Gale looks stunned at her admission. “Madge, I’m over Katniss. I’m never going to be Peeta’s biggest fan but that doesn’t mean that I have any lingering feelings for her. Not anymore. It took me a while, but since you and I… you don’t know how happy am I that it didn’t work out with Katniss. And that’s because of you. What you and I have already is so much better than anything I had with Katniss. I love you.”

Her eyes widen. It’s the first time he’s said the L-word to her. “I love you too,” she responds without hesitation before fusing their lips together. She pulls away, only far enough and long enough to issue a command. “Bedroom.”

Without taking his lips from hers, Gale lifts her up so that he can carry her out of the stairwell and back to her apartment. They stumble against a wall in the hallway and grind slowly against each other, still kissing. Only the chime from the elevator door and the gasp of a scandalized neighbor can break them apart. With a laugh, Gale throws Madge over his shoulder and darts back into the apartment before she even has a chance to blush and apologize.

When they’re done, and lying in a tangle of limbs and sheets on her bed, Madge rests her head on his torso and gazes at him. He’s staring off at the middle distance, deep in thought. She reaches up to smooth out the furrow in his brow. “What are you thinking about?”

“I think I like that color best,” he says.

Madge twists to see which one he’s pointing at and grins in delight. Serendipity Rose. She leans up to kiss him. “I knew we were meant to be together,” she murmurs before their lips meet.

 

**After their first dance.**

Thom and Delly decide on a destination wedding, opting for a beach resort in Mexico. While most of their guests are only flying in for the weekend, Madge and Gale decide to make a vacation of it. They fly down a week early and explore the Mayan ruins on the Yucatan Peninsula before making their way to the resort for a few days relaxing and soaking up the sun.

The wedding is a small affair, held on the beach. Afterwards they share a meal on a deck overlooking the ocean and get drunk on cocktails. Gale surprises Madge by not only pulling her out of her chair to dance, but by being a very decent dancer.

“How have we been dating for almost a year and I am only just now learning that you can dance?” she asks in amazement as he shimmies to the upbeat music.

He just winks and spins her before pulling back to him.

They’re the last to leave the dancefloor, long after the bride and groom have gone to bed. They walk back to their cabana along the beach; hand-in-hand, in the surf.

“This has been such an amazing week,” Madge sighs.

“It has,” Gale agrees. “It has been an amazing year.”

Unfortunately their blissful vacation ends with a seven hour delay in the airport the next day. It’s almost midnight when they make it back to Madge’s apartment.

All she wants to do it sleep so Madge dumps her bags at the end of her bed, brushes her teeth and changes into an old t-shirt of Gale’s. Despite how great the vacation was, she’s looking forward to sleeping in her own bed again.

She goes into the kitchen to grab a glass of water and finds Gale glaring at his phone and muttering angrily. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m supposed to have a meeting with a client tomorrow afternoon but she’s rescheduled it for eight tomorrow morning. He groans and rubs his face. “She’s a huge client so I can’t cancel it. All my notes are at my apartment.” He leans down to kiss her. “I’ll see you tomorrow evening.”

“Wait, you’re going now?”

“Well, yeah. I don’t want to have to rush it in the morning.”

“I’ll come with you.”

Gale follows her back into the bedroom and leans against the door and she pulls on a pair of yoga pants. “You don’t have to. Stay here and get some sleep.”

Madge fishes around in her closet for a pair of sneakers. “I want to come with you.” She doesn’t want to spend the night away from. She can’t explain why, but ending their vacation in separate beds just feels wrong to her. “Just hang on and let me grab my things for the morning.”

Ten minutes later they’re in a cab, a rare indulgence on Gale’s part. Madge rests her head on his shoulder and dozes until they reach his building. Once in his apartment, she goes straight to bed while Gale gets his notes ready for the meeting.

She’s sleeping when he comes into bed an hour later, but wakes when the mattress shifts.

“Sorry,” he whispers quietly when she rolls over to curl against him.

“It’s ok,” she says sleepily. He wraps his arms around her and kisses the top of her head. “Hey, Gale, move in with me?”

“Yes.” He gives her a sleepy kiss. “You know the only reason I’m dating you is for your apartment, right?”

Madge slaps his chest gently and drifts to sleep with a smile on her face.

 

**After their first negative.**

“I don’t want to get married,” she blurts out.

A range of emotions race across Gale’s handsome face.

She shakes her head and tries again. “That’s not what I mean,” she says, lowering herself onto his lap. “I just mean that I don’t want you to propose just because I’m pregnant. If I’m pregnant.”

Gale looks relieved. “OK. So, you’re not opposed to marriage on principle?”

“That’s it,” she assures him with a gentle kiss. “I am definitely in favor of marriage, I just don’t want a shotgun engagement.”

“Alright. Let’s see what it says before we jump any guns,” Gale suggests.

Madge stands up and grabs the test from where it rests on her nightstand.

Negative.

Oh.

She looks over her shoulder at Gale who’s standing right behind her, his eyes on the stick. He gives her a small smile. “You OK?”

She shrugs. “I guess. I’m relieved.” She puts the test down and faces him. “I think I’m a little bit disappointed too. Is that possible, to be relieved and disappointed by the same thing at the same time.”

“It would seem so.”

They sit on the bed again, Madge’s head resting on his shoulder and try to process things. Madge had been pretty sure she wasn’t pregnant, she didn’t feel pregnant, but her period hadn’t come this month and it usually arrived with the precision of a Japanese train.

“I’m sorry,” she says after a while.

Gale stares at her, shocked. “What are you sorry for?”

“Everything? Worrying you like that, stressing you out, disappointing you.”

“Madge, that’s crazy. It didn’t stress me out. If you’re going through something, then I want to be there with you.” He brushes away a tear from her face. “I am worried about you though. Will you go see a doctor tomorrow, get checked out?”

She nods. “It’s just work is so crazy right now,” she says. Which is reason number one why she’s relieved she’s not pregnant. “It’s probably just the stress.”

“All the more reason to get checked out, if it’s affecting you physically. You need to take care of yourself more, Madge. Tell your boss you need an assistant if you can’t take time off.”

“I will. I promise.” She brushes away her tears, grabs the test and tosses it in the trash. “I’m OK.”

Gale stands and slips his arms around her. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“One day, I want to marry you. And I want to have children with you.”

“I want that too.” She smiles at him. “One day.”

“One day,” he agrees. “Come on, let’s go out for dinner.”

So they freshen up and pull on some shoes and head down the block to the burger joint on the corner. After dinner, they cross the street to their favorite bar and have a few beers together before strolling home arm in arm.

By the time she goes to bed that night, Madge is feeling a lot better about things. Now is not the right time for a baby; Gale travels so much with work, she doesn’t want to be left raising the baby alone and she knows Gale would hate to miss some much time with his child too. Plus, her job is crazy right now, she’s on track to senior management and wants to focus on her career. She and Gale are in a wonderful place in their relationship, she wants to be able to enjoy it for a while longer before they take such a gigantic step.

Two days after taking the test, Madge comes home to find a trail of red rose petals leading from the door down the hallway to their bedroom. She makes a detour into the kitchen where something delicious is cooking in the oven and a tray of chocolate dipped strawberries sits on the counter-top. She nabs one and pops it in her mouth before following the petal trail.

She find Gale arranging candles around the room. He looks up in surprise and swivels around to look at the time on his bedside clock. “I wasn’t expecting you so early.”

“I’m not jeopardizing my health for work anymore, so I thought fuck it and left early. The report can wait until Monday.” Actually, ‘early’ was still past the time she was supposed to finish up, but it was early by her usual standards. “I talked to my manager and she’s going to approve an assistant for me.” She looks around at the room which Gale has scattered with rose petals and unlit candles. “What’s all this for?”

Gale smiles. “I wanted to help you relax. Take a bath and I’ll finish getting dinner ready.”

She crosses the room to him to kiss him. “Thank you.” For the first time she notices that he’s wearing the grey button-down she bought him, her favorite, and the cologne she bought him too. He is freshly shaved and even his hair is neatly styled. “Should I dress up too?”

“Wear whatever you want? Put on your pajamas if you want. Or no clothes is always an option. Whatever you feel most comfortable in.”

He kisses her one more time and leaves the room. Madge heads into the bathroom to run her bath and finds a selection of bath bombs from her favorite store sitting in a basket in the bath. She feels such a rush of love for her boyfriend.

An hour later, feeling fully relaxed and slightly pruney, Madge dresses in a simple white summer dress. It’s comfortable but pretty enough to make it look like she’s dressed up too.

“Pretty dress,” Gale says when she joins him in the kitchen.

“Pretty boyfriend,” she volleys.

They have a leisurely dinner, discussing their day and enjoying each other’s company. When it’s done, Gale clears the things away and brings out dessert, for which Madge perches herself on his lap so they can feed each other.

“If there was such a thing as intelligent design, then chocolate strawberries would exist in nature,” Madge says seriously.

“You say the same thing about nutella.”

“Well, it’s true.” She steals a kiss from him, enjoying the taste of chocolate on his lips. He used the good stuff. “So, I’m all relaxed and de-stressed now; or is there more?”

“There’s more.” Gale’s voice cracks when he speaks, and butterflies erupt in her stomach. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small velvet ring-box. Madge bites her lips to suppress the gasp of delight. Gale takes a deep breath before he begins to speak. “I bought this weeks ago, before you ever thought you might be pregnant and I’m giving it to you now, when we know you’re definitely not.

“You’re the love of my life, Madge. You’re the one I want to spend my life with. Marry me.”

She’s crying so hard, she can barely speak, but she kisses him hard and when they break apart she finds her words. “Yes. Yes.”

“Thank fuck,” he laughs, carefully taking the ring from the box and slipping it onto her finger.


End file.
